Abacus Planning Group Inc. Makes New $252,000 Investment in 3M (NYSE:MMM)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of 3M (NYSE:MMM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,845 shares of the conglomerate’s stock, valued at approximately $252,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Tributary Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in 3M during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in 3M by 419.1% during the 1st quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 244 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in 3M during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of 3M in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of 3M by 689.7% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 308 shares of the conglomerate’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the period. 65.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

3M Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MMM stock opened at $134.78 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $130.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $110.26. 3M has a twelve month low of $71.12 and a twelve month high of $140.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.95. The company has a market capitalization of $74.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.95.

3M (NYSE:MMM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The conglomerate reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.25. 3M had a net margin of 3.08% and a return on equity of 112.92%. The firm had revenue of $6.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that 3M will post 7.22 EPS for the current year.

3M Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. 3M’s payout ratio is -22.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MMM. Barclays lifted their target price on 3M from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of 3M from $100.00 to $133.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of 3M from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Argus upgraded shares of 3M from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $145.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of 3M from $120.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, 3M has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at 3M

In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Michael F. Roman sold 5,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $700,635.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 174,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,486,484.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Theresa E. Reinseth sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.12, for a total value of $260,652.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $541,659.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

3M Profile

3M Company provides diversified technology services in the United States and internationally. The company's Safety and Industrial segment offers industrial abrasives and finishing for metalworking applications; autobody repair solutions; closure systems for personal hygiene products, masking, and packaging materials; electrical products and materials for construction and maintenance, power distribution, and electrical original equipment manufacturers; structural adhesives and tapes; respiratory, hearing, eye, and fall protection solutions; and natural and color-coated mineral granules for shingles.